IBT Staff Reporter

Jobless claims dipped for a second week, suggesting growth in the labor market, but data on home construction showed that sector remains stressed even as the economy shows signs of a pick up.

First-time claims for jobless benefits were essentially unchanged in the latest week, cementing a recent downward trend that remains too modest to bring down unemployment.

Halfway down a muddy slope in the Russian taiga, a team of welders shelters in a small tent to solder two giant steel pipes, bringing Russia 24 meters closer to its Asian oil El Dorado.

The European Central Bank said on Thursday it had decided nearly to double its subscribed capital by injecting 5 billion euros, citing greater market volatility, credit risk and a growing financial system.

Not long ago, if you wanted steak for lunch at the Texan Restaurant, less than two minutes drive from the Nexteer Automotive assembly plant, you had to be in the door by 11 o'clock in the morning. If you arrived any later, you joined a long line with other laggards and waited for a table to open up.

According to Gartner, the industry had a nice recovery in 2010 after two straight dismal years.

A new supercomputer from the Air Force is built out of 1,716 Playstation 3 consoles.

Apple Inc's iPad and bustling retail business have encouraged investors to shrug off the shaky economy and snap up the company's shares as 2010 comes to a close.

AOL Inc. announced its acquisition of New York-based content marketing platform startup Pictela to bolster its advertising offering. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Pictela is a platform for distributing videos, photos and applications across the Web in real time.

Pier 1 Imports Inc's quarterly profit beat Wall Street estimates as the home goods chain's targeted marketing, product changes and decision to stock more seasonal goods paid off.

In measuring your worth, it might be time to invent a new, innovative metric that gets to the heart of the real value you add to your organization, says Harvard Business Review.

The Obama administration is setting conditions' to initiate the 'responsible reduction of US troops in Afghanistan, the White House review of Afghan war stated. The troop withdrawal is likely to commence in July as the review maintained that US strategy in the conflict zone has been showing progress.. It also stated that the Al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan is at its weakest since 2001.

New U.S. claims for jobless aid fell last week and factory activity in the country's Mid-Atlantic region grew at its quickest pace in more than 5-1/2 years this month, indicating the economic recovery is gaining traction.

India and China agreed to bolster bilateral trade and to reduce the massive trade deficit between the two countries, it was announced on Thursday during Chinese PM Wen Jiabao's visit to India.

Bank of America has appealed a bankruptcy court order that it must pay Lehman Brothers Holding Inc about $595 million, according to court documents.

Technological advances enabling companies to significantly cut costs have led to strong global growth in start-up activity, an American venture capital pioneer told Reuters.

South Korea will hold live-fire exercises on Yeonpyeong Island, officials in Seoul stated on Thursday. The military drill, which will be the first such maneuver on Yeonpyeong Island since last month North Korea attack, is likely to revive tension in the region as the North warned nuclear assault in retaliation to any provocations.

Pier 1 Imports Inc's quarterly profit beat analysts' estimates as the home goods chain's targeted marketing, merchandising changes and decision to stock more seasonal goods paid off.

The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has called for enhanced federal oversight in the emerging field of synthetic biology. The panel's approach recognized the great potential of this burgeoning field of science, including life saving medicines, and the still distant risks posed by the field.

Facebook Inc is likely to generate 2010 revenue of about $2 billion, more than previously expected for the popular social networking site, Bloomberg reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Stocks were little changed on Thursday as indexes struggled to break through a technical range and economic bellwether FedEx posted results that missed estimates but offered a bullish forecast.

The’ Fast and Furious 4’ grossed a $155,064,265 domestically and $359,264,265 worldwide and is the second highest-grossing film in the car genre, behind ‘Cars’.

After being voted 'Person of the Year' by Time magazine Mark Zukerberg's brainchild Facebook is expected to post $2 billion in revenue for the year 2010.

Oil giant BP was the biggest faller on Britain's blue-chip board on Thursday, as investors fretted that a U.S. government lawsuit may mean the cost of its oil spill will be far higher than predicted.

Housing starts rose slightly more than expected in November, but a surprise drop in permits for future home construction to a 1-1/2 year low indicated continued weakness in the housing market even as the economic recovery gains traction.

British citizens expect the inflation rate to continue to rise in 2011, according to a survey released by the Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday.

Eurozone manufacturing PMI touched an 8-month high in December while composite output index fell, according to a survey.

At least 1.2 billion songs will have been illegally downloaded by the end of 2010 in Britain, a study for the recording industry lobby group the BPI said on Thursday.

The duo collaborate for the ninth time for the upcoming movie